About the Album
Sappy/Deadly is technically Bachman's fourth self-produced LP, so the record's complex tone is not something that was borne overnight. Like any project from the subversive songstress, it's playful and quirky yet fully dramatic. Oftentimes, it's quite somber, especially when one pays close attention to the lyrics, which doesn't take a great deal of effort thanks to Bachman's expressive vocals. Her performance makes the lyrics jump from the song to engage the listener and help reveal what lies between the lines of her curious turns of phrase.
With the Better News Bears, Bachman creates an album that isn't experimental per se but may prove challenging for casual audiences. It's not that she has set out to destroy sing-song cliches. It's just that her creative spirit stretches beyond the confines of traditional songwriting. The band slips between major and minor chords with ease, regularly strays from standard time, and bends tempo to the tonal needs of the songs. Indeed, there are barely any drums on the album at all, lending further to the record's complex dealings with lingering feelings.
Sappy/Deadly is the sound of a genuinely happy person dealing with unhappy circumstances. Whether about unrequited love, inadequacy, breakups, or narcissism, its tracklist lives in limbo, never falling into a groove for too long. It's a combination of unsettled grounds and internal restlessness that steers the album's indulgent detours into pockets of ornate truths. Despite its shape-shifting tendencies, however, Sappy/Deadly is held together by confident performances and melodic throughlines. Even when it's standing on a bare, timid ukulele and trailing off lyrically, the album isn't meandering, and it's certainly not introverted. Rather, it quietly mimes toward hidden points in the empty spaces for listeners to find themselves.
